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Ezekiel 8

God exposes idolatry within his own sanctuary and declares judgment on a people whose worship accompanies violence.

Ezekiel is sitting in his house with the elders of Judah when the Lord GOD’s hand falls on him. The Spirit carries him in a vision to Jerusalem, where God shows him idol worship within the temple grounds. Elders burn incense before images, women mourn Tammuz, and men face the sun with their backs to the temple. God exposes their claim that he does not see, connects their worship with violence throughout the land, and announces judgment.

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1In the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, the Lord GOD’s hand fell on me there.
2Then I saw, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of fire—from the appearance of his waist and downward, fire, and from his waist and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal.
3He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the sky, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looks toward the north, where there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.
4Behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the appearance that I saw in the plain.
5Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and saw, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
6He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But you will again see yet other great abominations.”
7He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.
8Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig now in the wall.” When I had dug in the wall, I saw a door.
9He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.”
10So I went in and looked, and saw every form of creeping things, abominable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around on the wall.
11Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood before them. In the middle of them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan stood, every man with his censer in his hand; and the smell of the cloud of incense went up.
12Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery? For they say, ‘The LORD doesn’t see us. The LORD has forsaken the land.’”
13He said also to me, “You will again see more of the great abominations which they do.”
14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’s house which was toward the north; and I saw the women sit there weeping for Tammuz.
15Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? You will again see yet greater abominations than these.”
16He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house; and I saw at the door of the LORD’s temple, between the porch and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the LORD’s temple and their faces toward the east. They were worshiping the sun toward the east.
17Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger. Behold, they put the branch to their nose.
18Therefore I will also deal in wrath. My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Ezekiel 8:18The final verdict closes the vision with wrath and makes clear that loud cries will not avert this judgment.
Ezekiel 8:12The elders claim God neither sees nor remains with them, even as he exposes their hidden worship to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 8:3The Spirit brings Ezekiel to the temple in a vision, where an idol provokes the jealousy of Israel’s God.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus and Deuteronomy share the themes of God’s jealousy, forbidden images, and the demand that Israel worship him alone; 2 Kings records idolatry within Jerusalem’s temple. Jeremiah and Isaiah likewise connect corrupt worship with violence and warn that religious observance cannot shield a people from judgment.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out about the elders’ claim that God does not see, given what Ezekiel is shown?

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How does God’s mention of violence shape your reading of the temple worship he condemns?

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Questions people ask about Ezekiel 8

What is the image of jealousy in Ezekiel 8?

It is an idol positioned near the northern entrance of the temple’s inner court. The chapter does not identify the deity or describe the image’s shape. Its name points to its effect: it provokes God’s jealousy because idol worship has been brought into his own sanctuary.

Who is Tammuz in Ezekiel 8?

Tammuz was a Mesopotamian deity associated with vegetation and mourning rites. Ezekiel sees women weeping for him at the north gate of YHWH’s house. The chapter gives no account of the rite’s details; it presents this mourning as another instance of idolatry within the temple grounds.

What does putting the branch to their nose mean in Ezekiel 8:17?

The exact gesture is uncertain. It may refer to an idolatrous ritual or an offensive act, but the chapter does not explain it. The surrounding words make its force clear: God names it alongside temple abominations and violence as a further provocation that leads to his announced wrath.

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What the Bible says about anger →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).